A film written and directed by Manchester filmmaker Gino Evans has won an international award in Las Vegas.

Blind Faith, produced by Sharp Project-based Brickhouse Productions, follows Jed – an alcoholic homeless man – who is convinced that his love for his girlfriend and his spiritual belief will somehow turn his life around.

Set in Manchester city centre and filmed on a low budget, it mixes the gritty reality of the streets with the closeness of the homeless community.

Delivering a gripping, tense and sometimes heart-warming story by delving into the world of some of society’s most vulnerable people.

With largely Manchester cast and crew contributions, the film includes performances from lead actors Charlie Parker and Nicola Kidd.

Blind Faith received the Lift-Off award and will now go on to official selection for ‘Amsterdam Lift Off’.

Evans, a director at Brickhouse, said: “I’m surprised and delighted.

“Winning locally in Liverpool last year was awesome because it meant people in our area were relating to the film.

“However, I never expected it to do well abroad due to its strong cultural relevance.

“But clearly I was wrong.

“Homelessness is a very real issue and hopefully we have shown the issues homeless people face in a very real way.

“We made it for us because it was something we were interested in but winning an award in Las Vegas has given us great confidence to continue with projects of a similar gritty style and content in the future.”

James Alexander, organiser of the Lift Off festivals, said: “The initial audience response was that of association and empathy.

“The acting is so incredibly well-crafted that we were being asked afterwards whether or not this was an actual documentary.

“Blind Faith won because it had a very raw and very solid grounding in reality and the Vegas community loved that.”